John Douglas Thompson Will Play King Lear in TFANA's 2026-27 Season

Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA) has announced the four productions for its 2026–27 season, the first season fully programmed by new artistic director Arin Arbus. All shows will play at Polonsky Shakespeare Center, TFANA’s home in Brooklyn.

The season will kick off with the North American premiere of America, Who Hurt You? (September 11-27), written and performed by Special Tony Award recipient Sarah Jones and directed by Obie winner Eric Ting. Jones embodies a cast of characters to hold up a mirror to 250 years of American history.

Daniel Fish, known for his reimagined Oklahoma!, directs the New York premiere of Anne Carson’s translation of Sophokles’ Elektra (November 10–December 6), featuring choral music composed by Ted Hearne. This is the first major New York revival in three decades of the 2,500-year-old tragedy.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art invited performance artist Suzanne Bocanegra to create a work about the largest tapestry in their collection: a 16th-century work titled Honor. Performed by Suzanne Bocanegra in tandem with Lili Taylor, and directed by Geoff Sobelle, Honor, An Artist Lecture By Suzanne Bocanegra Starring Lili Tayor (January 13-31, 2027) is presented in partnership with Under the Radar Festival 2027.

Finally, in their sixth collaboration at TFANA, John Douglas Thompson reunites with Arbus to tackle William Shakespeare’s King Lear (February 28, 2027-March 28, 2027).

Also this season, for the first time, TFANA welcomes a Company-in-Residence: Classix, a collective comprised of Brittany Bradford, A.J. Muhammad, Dominique Rider, Arminda Thomas, and Awoye Timpo. The mission of Classix, to explode the classical canon through an exploration of dramatic works by Black writers and Black performance history, is closely aligned with TFANA’s. This two-year residency will culminate with a production in TFANA’s 2027-28 season.